一人二役 Hitoriniyaku, part 2: A Cigarette Case and a Missing Husband

ここで、細君さいくんが怪あやしんで、あくまで穿鑿せんさくをしようものなら、Ｔの計画けいかくは、すっかりオジャンだ。Now, if at this point his wife had grown suspicious and insisted on getting to the bottom of it, T's whole scheme would have gone up in smoke.

空そら鼾いびきをかきながら、彼かれはもうビクビクものだったというね。He was snoring away, pretending to be asleep, and all the while, so he says, he was quaking in his boots.

ところが、細君さいくん、案外あんがい暢気のんきなもので、何なんか感違かんちがいしたとでも思おもったのか、そのままじっとしている。But his wife turned out to be surprisingly easygoing. Perhaps she thought she'd simply got something muddled, because she just lay there quietly.

暫しばらく待まっていると、スウスウと優やさしい鼾いびきが聞きこえて来きた。After he had waited a while, he heard gentle snoring, soft and even.

もうしめたものだ。That settled it. He was home free.

そこで、Ｔは、細君さいくんが十分じゅうぶん寝込ねこんだ折おりを見みすまして、ソッと床とこの中なかから這はい出だした、手早てばやく着物きものを着きると、例れいの銀ぎんのシガレット・ケース丈だけを枕許まくらもとへ残のこして、音おとのしない様ように、家いえから抜ぬけ出だし、それも、まともな入口いりぐちからでなくて、庭にわの塀へいをのり越こしたのだ。So T watched for the moment when his wife was sound asleep, then crept quietly out of the bedding. He dressed quickly, left only that silver cigarette case beside her pillow, and slipped out of the house without a sound. And he didn't go out by the proper door, either: he climbed over the garden wall.

もうその時分じぶん車くるまなんかありやしない、テクテクと、十じゅう何なん町ちょうの道みちを、行いきつけの待合まちあいへ歩あるいた。At that hour there were no rickshaws or anything of the kind, of course, so he trudged on foot the dozen-odd blocks to the teahouse he always went to.

酔狂すいきょうな男おとこもあったものだ。There are some odd fellows in this world, aren't there?

さて、翌朝よくあさだ。Well then, the next morning.

細君さいくん、目めを醒さまして見みると、一緒いっしょに寝ねていた筈はずの夫おっとが、も抜ぬけのからだから、少すくなからず驚おどろいた。The wife woke up to find that the husband who was supposed to be sleeping beside her had left nothing but an empty bed, and she was more than a little startled.

家中いえじゅう探さがして見みたが、どこにもいない。She searched the whole house, but he was nowhere to be found.

寝坊ねぼうの夫おっとが、この早朝そうちょう外出がいしゅつする筈はずもなし、妙みょうだなと思おもいながら、ふっと気きがついたのは、枕許まくらもとのシガレット・ケースだ。Her husband was a late riser, and there was no way he would have gone out so early in the morning. As she was thinking how strange it was, her eye suddenly fell on the cigarette case beside the pillow.

一向いっこう見み慣なれぬ品しなだ。It was a thing she had never seen before.

夫おっとが始終しじゅう持もっているのとは違ちがう。It wasn't the one her husband always carried.

で、手てにとって調しらべて見みると、まるで心当こころあたりのないイニシアルが刻きざんである。So she picked it up and looked it over, and found it engraved with initials that meant nothing to her at all.

中なかの巻まき煙草たばこまで、夫おっとの常用じょうようのものとは違ちがっている。Even the cigarettes inside were different from the kind her husband usually smoked.

夫おっとがどこかで取違とりちがえて来きたのかとも考かんがえて見みたが、さて、何なんとやら腑ふに落おちぬ。She wondered whether her husband had picked it up by mistake somewhere, but somehow it still didn't make sense to her.

と、思出おもいだすのは、昨夜ゆうべの髭ひげの一件いっけんだ。And then what came back to her was that business with the moustache the night before.

さあ、細君さいくんどれ程ほどか心配しんぱいしたことであろう。Well, you can imagine how worried his wife must have been.

そこへ、Ｔが、昨夜さくや家いえを明あけたのがきまりが悪わるいという様ような、殊勝気しゅしょうげな顔かおつきで帰かえって来きた。Just then T came home, wearing a meek, contrite expression, as though he were embarrassed at having stayed out all night.

無論むろん服装ふくそうは、前日ぜんじつ家いえを出でた時ときのとおり換かえているし、つけ髭ひげもとってある。Naturally he had changed back into the clothes he'd left the house in the day before, and he had taken off the false moustache.

いつもなら、細君さいくん、ただは置おかないのだけれど、今日きょうはそれどころではない。Ordinarily his wife would never have let him get away with that, but today she had far more pressing things on her mind.

彼女かのじょの方ほうに、途方とほうもない心配しんぱいがあるのだ。She had a tremendous worry of her own, you see.

妙みょうな工合ぐあいで、だんまりで、Ｔは茶ちゃの間まへ通とおる、細君さいくんは青あおい顔かおをしてあとからついて来くる、といった鹽梅あんばいだ。It was a strange state of affairs: without a word, T went through to the sitting room, and his wife followed behind him, pale in the face. That's how things stood.

暫しばらくすると、細君さいくんがおずおずしながら聞きくんだね。After a while, his wife asks him, very timidly, you know.

「この煙草たばこ入いれ、どっかで取とりかえていらっしったのじゃなくって」"Didn't you perhaps get this cigarette case mixed up with someone else's somewhere?"

いうまでもなく、例れいの銀製ぎんせいのシガレット・ケース。It was, needless to say, that silver cigarette case.

「いいえ、それ、どうかしたのかい」"No. Why, is something the matter with it?"

と、Ｔがとぼけて見みせると、When T played the innocent like this,

「だって」と少すこしあまえて、「ゆうべ、あなたがもってお帰かえりなすったのじゃありませんか」"But," she said, a little coaxingly, "didn't you bring it home with you last night?"

「へええ」と更さらにとぼけて「だが、僕ぼくのはちゃんと、これ、ここに持もっているよ。それに、第だい一いち僕ぼくがゆうべ帰かえったって？」ここで少すこし調子ちょうしを高たかめる。"Really?" he said, playing even more innocent. "But I've got mine right here, look. And besides, what do you mean, I came home last night?" Here he raises his voice a little.

この一言ひとことで、細君さいくんをハッとさせる訳わけだね。That one remark is meant to give his wife a jolt, you see.

などと、落語家らくごかみたいに、会話かいわ入いりでやっちゃ、際限さいげんがないから、それはよすとして、よろしく一問いちもん一答いっとうを繰くりかえしたのち、とど、細君さいくんが昨夜さくやの一伍一什いちぶしじゅうを、打開うちあけて了しまうところまでこぎつけた。But if I go on telling it with all the dialogue like a comic storyteller, there'll be no end to it, so I'll leave that out. Suffice it to say that after a good deal of question and answer, he finally managed to get his wife to confess the whole story of the night before.

そこで、Ｔはさも不思議ふしぎ相そうな顔かおをして見みせ、そんな馬鹿ばかなことのあろう道理どうりがない。Then T put on a look of utter bewilderment and said there was no reason on earth such a foolish thing could have happened.

自分じぶんはゆうべ××家やで、何なんの誰だれと一晩ひとばん呑のみあかしたのだから、何なんならあの男おとこに聞きいて見みるがいい、と、これがつまり、探偵たんてい小説しょうせつの言葉ことばで云いえばアリバイだね。He had spent the whole night drinking with so-and-so at the such-and-such house, he said, and if she liked she could go and ask the man herself. That, in other words, is what you'd call an alibi in the language of detective stories.

それは前まえ以もってちゃんと頼たのみ込こんであるのだ。He had duly arranged all that with the man beforehand.

エ、お前まえがそのアリバイを勤つとめたのかって、イヤ、違ちがう違ちがう。Eh? Was it you who played the alibi, you ask? No, no, not at all.

「お前まえ夢ゆめでも見みたのではないか。いいえ、決けっして夢ゆめではありません。夢ゆめでなかった証拠しょうこには、ちゃんと煙草たばこ入いれが残のこっているのだ。"Weren't you perhaps dreaming?" "No, it most certainly was not a dream." And the proof that it wasn't a dream was the cigarette case lying right there.

はてな、昔むかしの書物しょもつに、離魂病りこんびょうというものが見みえているが、まさか今いまの時節じせつ、そんなこともあるまい。"Hmm, now let me think. In the old books there's mention of something called the soul-splitting sickness, but surely such a thing couldn't happen in this day and age.

その離魂りこん病びょうというのはね、一人ひとりの人間にんげんの姿すがたが、二ふたつに分わかれて、同時どうじに、違ちがった場所ばしょで、違ちがった行おこないをするというのだ。This soul-splitting sickness, you see, is when a single person's form splits in two, and the two of them do different things in different places at the same time.

などと、一寸ちょっと怪談かいだんめいて見みたり、お前まえそんなことを云いって、実じつはソッとどこかの男おとこを引入ひきいれているのではないか」などと脅おどしつけて見みたり、それが又また、Ｔには、何なんとも愉快ゆかいでたまらないというのだから、因果いんがさ。So he'd make it sound a bit like a ghost story, or he'd try scaring her with, "Saying such things, aren't you really sneaking some man into the house on the quiet?" And T found all this more fun than anything. Some people are just made that way.